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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542788">Catlike</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mel_tokio/pseuds/mel_tokio'>mel_tokio</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tales of Symphonia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:07:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mel_tokio/pseuds/mel_tokio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lloyd Irving: hero to people and cats alike!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted on Tumblr for Colloyd Week 2019. Reposted here with minor edits.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Colette first consciously recognized that she was in love with Lloyd when she was twelve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was an overcast day, and Phaidra, certain from the aching in her bones that it would rain, had insisted she stay inside, lest her clothes get covered in mud. Fortunately, Lloyd was there to keep her company.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“King me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She puffed her chest out proudly, eager to break Lloyd’s two-game winning streak. She’d never played checkers before that day, but she thought she was getting the hang of it pretty nicely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd groaned and stacked a second black checker atop the one she’d just moved.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re doing way too well for a newbie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only because you’re such a good teacher!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Flattery will get you nowhere!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd leaned forward in his kitchen chair and stared at the board with squinted eyes, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth, as he contemplated his next move. Just as he reached for a red piece near the end of the board, a loud thump resounded behind him, making both of them jump.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette turned toward the noise to hear a series of whines coming from just outside the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd got up to open the door for his furry friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Noishe?” He reached down to pet the oversized dog. “What’s wrong? Why were you jumping against the door like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette walked over to investigate. Noishe’s usually perky ears were tilting downward, and while his facial expressions differed somewhat from those of other dogs Colette knew, she was fairly confident she could read him well enough to identify concern in his glassy blue eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just to the right, she could hear a faint meow. She poked her head out the window to follow the sound, and sure enough, she saw a little orange head poking out of the branches of a nearby pine tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tapped Lloyd’s shoulder and pointed at the tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lloyd, I think he was trying to tell us that cat is stuck!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd followed her gaze to the distressed feline, whose meows had started to become more urgent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no! We have to get it out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette debated reminding him that she had been ordered to stay inside for the day, but it wasn’t raining at the moment, and her grandmother wasn’t home, so she decided against it. As long as she kept her clothes clean, there would be no harm done, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two ran over to the tree, getting a closer look at the cat. It was pretty high up, but pines weren’t particularly difficult to climb thanks to their numerous branches. The poor thing was probably just scared. It did look pretty young.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd rolled up his sleeves and hoisted himself onto a low branch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to go up, Lloyd,” Colette protested. “We’re at my house, so it should be my job to help the kitty, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd kept climbing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, I got it!” he called down to her. “You’re not supposed to get your clothes dirty, right? And no offense, but you kind of suck at climbing trees.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crossed her arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> clumsy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd snickered from up above.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You totally are!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Am not!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are so!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Am not!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are s—ouch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette looked up into the tree to see Lloyd clutching his left cheek and wincing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lloyd! Are you okay!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bit his lip and nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine. Branch just scratched me a bit, no biggie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He removed his hand from his face, and even from low down, Colette could see that he was bleeding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lloyd, come down! You’re hurt. We can find someone else to help the cat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way, this cat is counting on me and I’m not gonna let it down!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh? But I thought the whole point of climbing up there was to let it down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, you know what I mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He climbed higher, seemingly unaffected by the pain, until he reached the branch with the cat on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here, kitty kitty!” He reached a hand out, and the cat approached it tenuously. After a quick sniff, it seemed to accept Lloyd as trustworthy and allowed him to scoop it up in his arms. Cautiously, Lloyd lowered himself down until his feet landed on the lowest branch. He jumped to the ground, holding the cat to his chest as it purred contentedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette reached over and stroked its head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He really is a cute kitty…or is it a ‘she’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd turned bright red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not checking for that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blood was dripping from the cut on his face. Now that he was closer, Colette could see that it was much deeper than she’d initially realized.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on! Let me go inside and get you some bandages!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She darted back into her house before he had a chance to respond. She opened her kitchen drawers one by one, having a little difficulty remembering which one the first aid kit was in. She rifled through the various odds and ends until she found the small box and sped back out the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd was now accompanied not only by Noishe and their new cat friend, but also by a young woman holding the hand of a little blond boy who looked to be about four.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See, Clarence?” The woman leaned down to look at the boy. “I told you we would find her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clarence wiped some snot with his sleeve. He appeared to have been crying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pumpkin! I was so scared!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette walked over to Lloyd and began to blot his face with a handkerchief as he handed the cat over to the woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this your cat?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, this is Pumpkin. We hadn’t seen her for hours, so we were worried she wasn’t coming back. We’ve been walking around searching for her all day. Thank you two so much for taking care of her!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colette smiled at the name ‘Pumpkin.’ While she still appeared to be a kitten, she was quite round, so it was fitting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lloyd is the one who got her out of the tree,” she clarified. “I didn’t do anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman looked at Lloyd, apparently just now noticing the wound on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no! You’re hurt!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lloyd shrugged as Colette taped a bandage to his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s no problem. I’m just glad Pumpkin is okay!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Colette could tell that he really meant it when he said it was no problem. The boy was heroic to a fault, always neglecting his own well-being for others, and glancing at his soft brown eyes gazing lovingly at Pumpkin as he reached out to stroke her fluffy head once more, she realized that looking at his face filled her with the same warm feeling in her chest as looking at the cat: He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And in that moment, she was fairly certain she knew how it felt to be in love with someone.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Pizza! There you are!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Startled by the sudden shout, Colette’s hand instinctively clutched Lloyd’s a little tighter. She looked behind her toward the voice to see a lanky boy with a mop of curly blond hair. Nestled in his arms was a big orange bundle of fur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clarence? You’re so much bigger than the last time we saw you! And is that Pumpkin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was funny how much difference a few months away from Iselia could make. The last time she’d seen Clarence was just before she and Lloyd had embarked on their Exsphere-collecting journey, and in that short time, Clarence had grown so much. He had to be, what, nine years old now? He looked even older than that, honestly. Colette supposed he was one of those children who hit their growth spurts early.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy blushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Colette, Lloyd, it’s been a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pumpkin, who had grown nearly as large as her namesake over the years, meowed grumpily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that you were saying before?” Lloyd asked. “Something about pizza?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pizza is Pumpkin’s son,” Clarence explained. “She had kittens a couple months ago, and people adopted the rest of the litter, but we kept him. I guess he takes after his mom, as you can see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gestured up to a nearby tree. Colette hadn’t even noticed the stripy orange cat poking his head out of the leaves. He was certainly quieter than Pumpkin; she and Lloyd had been sitting there eating lunch for the past fifteen minutes or so, and she hadn’t heard a single meow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want me to get him out?’ Lloyd offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Colette put her sandwich back on her plate and stood up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be silly, Lloyd! I’ll just fly up there! What good are my wings if I can’t use them in times like these?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As that last sentence escaped her mouth, she hoped it hadn’t come off as too insensitive. Lloyd, after all, had wings of his own, but they only came out on rare occasions. While sprouting wings from her back and putting them back away had come naturally to her from the beginning, Lloyd seemed to have zero control over it, and she knew he was a little embarrassed by it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stuck out her wings and took flight. Pizza was pretty high up for such a small animal. She wasn’t entirely sure how he’d managed to get up there in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reached the cat in a matter of seconds. Sticking her arm out to the branch, she introduced herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Pizza. I’m Colette. I’m a friend of your family. I’m here to get you back down to the ground, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pizza licked her fingertips with a sandpapery tongue. He chirped cheerfully, probably enjoying whatever sandwich crumbs he’d gotten a taste of, and climbed into her arms without hesitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good boy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Holding Pizza close to her chest, she floated down. He was such a cute cat! His nose was so tiny, and his little paw pads would definitely leave Regal and Presea awestruck if they saw them. She leaned down to kiss his fuzzy little forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s a good kitty?” she cooed. “You are! You a—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, she found her face tangled in branches. She could feel her wings retracting from the shock, but everything was just happening so fast! She wasn’t far from the ground, and there was no way she’d be able to spread her wings again in time to catch herself. She clenched her teeth, bracing herself for the impact, hoping her body would at least soften the blow a bit for poor Pizza. She closed her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t hit the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opened her eyes back up to see another pair staring back. Strong, steady arms enveloped her and Pizza and slowly lowered her to the ground. Her surroundings were obscured by a sea of blue and green, the same color as…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But how? Lloyd had always had so much trouble with his wings before. How could he be carrying her through the air so effortlessly now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before she could think about it too much, she was back on the ground, Pizza jumping out of her arms to run over to his owner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clarence stared at Lloyd, his mouth agape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you have wings, too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lloyd reached back to scratch his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh, yeah, they don’t usually come out like that, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Colette brushed some dust off of her dress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never seen you fly so well before! Was something different this time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, my body just sort of…did stuff on its own, if that makes any sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Colette had to admit, she didn’t entirely understand that. The only things her body ever did on its own were fall and knock things over, never anything useful like flying. Lloyd’s body must be more efficient than hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” She leaned forward and grabbed his hands. “That’s so cool!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lloyd blushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t think it’s going to be a regular thing, unfortunately. I think my instincts just, like, knew they had to go into action mode.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s so like you! You were so dedicated to saving Pizza that you did it without even thinking!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, I guess I was a little worried about Pizza, too, but that’s not it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Colette tilted her head in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pizza’s a cat,” Lloyd said matter-of-factly. “He would’ve landed on his feet even without my help. You could have gotten seriously hurt, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her shoulders sank.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I caused trouble for you, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flicked her in the forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>like</span>
  </em>
  <span> helping you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but I hate to be a burden.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed and tousled her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a burden, you dork. You’re always helping me, too. You were the one who patched me up after I got Pumpkin out of the tree before, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That logic </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> make sense. And she supposed it did feel kind of nice to be rescued once in a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clarence freed up one of his arms to scoop up Pizza.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks again for the help, guys. I’ll leave you two alone now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Colette looked over at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? You don’t have to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But weren’t you two, you know…on a date? I don’t want to interrupt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And looking at Lloyd’s reddening cheeks, Colette couldn’t help but giggle and lean her head onto his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He really was just as cute as a cat.</span>
</p>
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